Brickyard 400 Groovy Gauge Presented by Lectric eBikes

What’s Happening?

Indianapolis, a historic crown jewel, looked promising on paper, but the on-track product leaned heavily into a strategy race with limited passing, leaving many fans wanting more. When the rain rolled in, washing out turn one and forcing double overtime restarts, the drama peaked, but not quite enough. Bubba Wallace broke a 100-race winless streak and punched his playoff ticket, yet the race delivered more tension than thrill. Check out Eric Estepp’s analysis in this week’s Out of the Groove episode, featuring the Groovy Gauge, powered by Lectric eBikes.

Groovy Gauge Score: 70%

• Eric acknowledged the strategies throughout the day, including pit decisions and tire gambles that set up an exciting finale. But he also noted the racing itself was “almost as bad as it gets,” calling out how difficult passing is at Indianapolis with the Next‑Gen cars and the one-groove surface.
• Eric credited the teams for playing the game perfectly, managing tire wear and pit windows. But as far as the racing product, he said fans watching from home likely found it underwhelming. There were few moments of side-by-side action, and most position changes happened via pit cycle rather than passing on track.
• He said the race hit the strategic mark, and in that sense delivered, but the lack of passes on long runs and the aero-sensitive cars made it feel stagnant. The restarts gave action, and Wallace’s breakthrough was satisfying, yet much of the race felt flat until the end. A solid strategy race, but not a classic.

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